Police cars guard the D&W Convenience store at the intersection of Routes 104 and 104B on the outskirts of New Haven after Heidi Allen's disappearance April 3, 1994.Tim Reese | The Post-Standard

Where's Heidi Allen?

It's perhaps the most vexing mystery in Oswego County history. The New Haven store clerk vanished without a trace 20 years ago this week.

Her disappearance resulted in a controversial outcome: Gary Thibodeau guilty of kidnapping, Richard Thibodeau innocent, even though authorities believe they acted together. It mobilized hundreds of searchers, including National Guard and Fort Drum personnel, drew experts from a missing persons group in Texas and culminated in two televised trials pitting heavyweight lawyers.

Defense lawyers Joe Fahey and Bill Walsh went on to become Onondaga County Court judges. And prosecutor Donald Dodd went on to become Oswego County's district attorney.

But after the dust settled, the mystery lived on. Syracuse.com will explore the case in a series of stories today and Thursday, marking the 20th anniversary of her disappearance.

The mystery

Easter 1994. The 18-year-old opened the D&W Convenience Store at 5:50 a.m. April 3 and served her last customer at 7:42 a.m. By 7:58 a.m., a concerned customer flagged down a patrol car: no one was tending the store.

A sign from 1996 across the street from the Thibodeau home in Mexico.

Allen left her car keys on the counter and her maroon station wagon outside. Customers left $9.50 for gas and newspapers on the counter. Not even a Slim Jim was out of place, one owner said.

Hundreds of people searched for Allen with no success. Countless flyers with her picture were posted from Florida to Watertown.

This is how they described Allen: 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 160 pounds, with hazel eyes and light brown hair that reached the middle of her back. She was last seen wearing light blue jeans, white tennis shoes and a gray "Syracuse U" sweatshirt, with the words made out of green and blue plaid.

No one has reported seeing her since.

The Thibodeaus, who are brothers, were charged with her kidnapping and death. But that only brought more questions when Gary was convicted and Richard acquitted by separate juries.

No motive for Heidi's disappearance has ever been determined. There were no signs of struggle.

Hours later, Gary Thibodeau and his then-girlfriend drove to Massachusetts, where their 1983 Cadillac broke down. They had to replace a drive shaft two days later, on April 5, 1994, according to a receipt from a mechanic shop in Leominster, Mass.

A day later, a witness saw Richard Thibodeau and another man, believed to be Gary Thibodeau, carrying a long object in clear plastic into the woods in Palermo. It was about 10 a.m. April 6 on Red Schoolhouse Road.

The object was 8 to 10 feet long, covered in clear plastic and tied with what appeared to be rope at both ends, the witness described.

But a search of the woods found only clothing unrelated to Allen's disappearance.
At trial, two inmates testified that Gary Thibodeau talked about Allen's disappearance in jail. The inmates claimed that Gary told them Allen used drugs. Gary Thibodeau denied that after taking the stand.

When Gary Thibodeau was found guilty, a juror said that it wasn't one thing that convinced the panel of his guilt as much as testimony from witnesses that had no personal interest in the case. Those witnesses included the neighbors, the witnesses at the store and those who saw the van after the kidnapping.

Gary Thibodeau led into court for arraignment in 1994 on charges he kidnapped Heidi Allen.Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

What the Thibodeau brothers claimed

While both brothers were accused of carrying out Allen's kidnapping, the evidence against them was very different.

Richard Thibodeau admitted he was at the scene - the receipt from his purchase proved it. Authorities had no such proof for Gary. The brothers both claimed they were not together that morning, at the store or elsewhere.

Gary said he never went to the store that day. Instead, he slept in and was awoken by a call from his brother about what was going on at the store. By then, word was getting out about Allen's disappearance. He claimed the brothers never used Heidi's name in that conversation.

Gary Thibodeau said that the neighbors were all mistaken about Richard's van being in the driveway that morning. In fact, he said, that happened a week later.

Richard Thibodeau said he never went to his brother's house that day. After returning from the store with his cigarettes, Richard Thibodeau spent a short while at home. One witness testified the van passed by in New Haven about the same time neighbors of Gary say the van was at his residence in Mexico.

After returning from the store, Richard Thibodeau said his family drove to the house of his girlfriend's relatives for Easter dinner. On the way, he saw the police tape at the convenience store and called deputies to give a statement.

Richard later gave fingerprint, blood and pubic hair samples to authorities. His van was searched and no trace of Heidi Allen was found.

His lawyer, Walsh, also pointed out witnesses testified that his van went from the store to his brother's house eight miles away in four minutes. It would take a fighter jet to go that fast, Walsh said at trial.

Walsh also pointed out at least two other similar-looking vans were investigated by authorities.

For his part, Gary Thibodeau also denied ever going to Massachusetts. While prosecutors said he bought a drive shaft there, no name was actually on the receipt proving he was there.

And a salesperson at Goldberg's Furniture testified seeing his then-girlfriend, Sharon, in Oswego the same day prosecutors say Gary and Sharon were in Massachusetts. Two bank employees and an insurance agent also recorded transactions on her account that day locally.

Richard Thibodeau also denied ever carrying an object into the woods in Palermo three days later. His boss testified that Richard was working in Liverpool that day, though the boss acknowledged he didn't watch him the whole day.

Both Thibodeau brothers volunteered to help with Allen's search effort before their arrests.